The Power Behind Gulfstream

October 20, 2014

By Tony Velocci

It’s been said that a great brand can travel worldwide, transcend cultural barriers, speak to multiple customer segments simultaneously and let a company operate at the higher end of the positioning spectrum.

If this is true, there is perhaps no better example than Gulfstream. It is one of the most iconic names in business aviation— the pioneer that launched an industry more than half a century ago by building aircraft designed specifically for business travel. And today, it’s overwhelmingly the choice of government and private-sector operators around the globe.

“What has driven our brand for years is a long-standing culture of doing what we say we’re going to do, on time and on spec,” says Scott Neal, senior vice president, Worldwide Sales and Marketing.

A Unique Customer Experience

The Gulfstream brand is powered by a combination of technology, service and a reputation for consistently delivering a unique customer experience. Third-party surveys routinely rank its product support as being as good as it gets—another reason the brand inspires confidence worldwide. “It is our investment in product support that has allowed us to remain at the top in terms of customer service—and the fact that we deliver mature products that our customers know will perform as well as or better than advertised,” says Neal.

“What has driven our brand for years is a long-standing culture of doing what we say we’re going to do, on time and on spec.”
Scott Neal, SVP, Worldwide Sales & Marketing, Gulfstream

Many of the aircraft that Gulfstream produces are certifiably the fastest, longest-range jets in their class. At any given time, Gulfstream Aerospace has in its product-development pipeline either a new clean-sheet design, significant performance upgrades to existing models, or a combination of both.

Take the large-cabin G650, for example. It already held the world record for both range and speed when Gulfstream Aerospace announced in May that it would introduce the G650ER , an ultra-long-range aircraft that can travel 7,500 nm at Mach 0.85, or 6,400 nm at nine-tenths the speed of sound (nearly 600 mph). This represents an increase of up to 500 nm over the range of the G650, which entered service just two years ago, and nearly 1.5 hours of time savings compared to other business jets flying the same 6,400-nm route. The upgrade will open up significant nonstop city pairs—including New York to Hong Kong, Dallas to Dubai and San Francisco to Delhi. “Thanks to the G650ER , the world just got a little smaller,” says Neal.

Going Above and Beyond

Earlier this year, a Gulfstream G650ER set two speed records during flight testing. The aircraft flew from Los Angeles International Airport to Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne, Australia—a distance of 6,947 nm—at an average speed of 0.86 Mach. The flight took 14 hours and 58 minutes, despite headwinds as high as 13 kts. On the second flight, from Hong Kong to New York, the G650ER covered the 7,494 nm ground distance in 14 hours and 7 minutes.

Before Gulfstream unveils any new model, the project spends years in the development and testing phase. “We don’t make promises on the basis of paper airplanes, and our aircraft often exceed their performance goals,” says Neal. “That kind of commitment to quality and delivering on our promises is why the Gulfstream brand is so enduring.”